Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFLGet Free Report) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $112.2727.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays set a $99.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on Aflac in a report on Monday, May 4th. Evercore raised Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on AFL

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $115.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $114.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. Aflac has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $119.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFLGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,508 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.81, for a total transaction of $648,897.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 40,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,775,663.97. This represents a 11.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,169,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,044,133,662.20. This trade represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 918,456 shares of company stock valued at $104,689,311 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.

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Analyst Recommendations for Aflac (NYSE:AFL)

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